I started to replace all of my rubber bushings with urethane today. I learned a few things to make the process easier and I ended up wondering some stuff too. I'm hoping someone can learn a little bit from my experience and I can maybe learn something from my questions that follow.

I replaced the steering coupler and swaybar endlinks. The coupler seemed pretty easy and would have been easier if I had figured out that jacking the car up first would allow me simple access to the nuts and the ability to turn the steering shaft with little effort. I figured this out after a half hour battle trying to reconnect the shafts in vein. Every time I tried to align the pieces I knocked a bolt into the u-joint and would have to start over after freeing the bolt. The other thing I learned was, to make it real simple during reconnection, loosen a nut on the lower shaft that allowed me to slide a collar up and down the shaft ( via tapping on it with a hammer), shortening it so I could get the two pieces together easier. Beyond those two things it was pretty simple. Neither of these things were explained in my Haines manual unfortunately.

The next item, the endlink bushings were more difficult than I thought. This leads me to my questions. I got a complete kit from Energy suspension that I thought were direct bolt swap-out but I had to modify the sleeve that goes over the 5 1/2" bolt of the endlink. When I assembled the entire link with washers and bushings I had no thread to start the nut on the end. I removed about 1/4"of the sleeve to give me the necessary room. How do you compress the urethane bushings enough while trying to start the nut and avoid modifying the sleeve? Perhaps the bolt was too short, it's a 5 1/2" bolt. I haven't replaced the rear links yet as I want to contact the manufacturer to find out if I created any problems. The other thing I did, which I now regret, is knocking the little round seat that was on the top of the control arm off. Apparently this is a permanent piece but it looked very much like one of the washers for the bushing that had been compressed into the hole for this link. Again this was not part of the Haines explinations. I removed only one but still... Anyone know what problems I might expect by removing this seat? Can I use one of the old washers in its place? This seems to be a reasonable solution since it would be fixed on the shaft of the link bolt like the other washers.

Sorry this is so long but I thought the history was necessary. Any feedback would be great and hopefully others who are rookies like myself can benefit from the things I learned the hard way.

Yup, the steering coupler can be a major PITA. But as you found out (like the rest of us have) it can be done with a little extra work.

I don't know about the end link, I have not used the Energy Suspension kit so I don't know if their bushings might be a little too thick or not. The "cup" on the control arm should be OK as long you make sure the end link is tight and does not loosen up. It could wear the bottom bushing if it were to move around a little due to under tightening. You could use one of the old washers in its place, perhaps with a little dab of JB Weld or even silicone to keep it in place. By shortening the end link you may have changed the stiffness of the bar slightly, but I don't think 1/4 inch will make a noticeable difference. Calling would be a good idea since all the urethane sway bar bushings I have used fit with no problem.

I was pretty surprised when the link didn't drop right in. The other thing I forgot to ask about is the torgue of 15 #/ft on the nut for the end link. The original shaft had two nuts top/bot. and I could see how you could get the torque because of the way the shaft on the link is designed. On this new link it seems like I could just keep going with the tightening of the nut and deflect the end of the sway bar until I crushed the new bushings. Not sure what to do with this. This may need to be part of my phone call to energy suspensions.

FYI - I contacted Energy suspensions regarding modifying the sleeve for their endlink bushings. Removing a 1/4" of sleeve will have no negative effects on the performance of the bushing. I was glad to learn this. After talking with a few people who have messed with these bushings they recommend a large C clamp or ratchet strap to compress the bushings to start the nut on the bolt. Or do what I did and cut it!

Xyz, are the end links the same for front and rear.I found some sway bars in my shop and end links.I need to know if there is any difference . Thanks Daniel

Daniel-

I have not worked on the rear yet, however, looking at the end links in the kit, there was 4 provided and they were all the same. I don't know about the stock end links and if they are all the same or not. Hope this helps.

When you get to the rear can you take a photo and/ or measure where the brackets mount.Not all Z's came with rear sway brackets. mine didn't .I have the brackets and need to know the position to weld them. Thanks for your help! Daniel

Daniel-

Here are a couple of picts of my swaybar location on my Z. I have a 260 if that matters (I don't think it does?). I hope this helps you. This isn't the easiest place to get a good photo.

Here's another pict with a tape measure on it for reference. I think the first picture is pretty clear as to the location of the bracket. You can see the clean spot where the bushing was before I replaced it.

Thank you oh so much for your timely and accurate photos!!! Daniel